Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin

cgesq

Re:  Order of TCH infusions.  Cocobean, a woman on the Sept. 2012 chemo thread posted the following:

Ok, one more thing for ladies getting the TCH treatment. I went to a breast cancer conference a couple weeks ago, it was for medial professionals and my mom is a nurse practitioner, so went with her. Saw Dr. Mark Pegram speak, he is from Standford and was part of the people who developed herceptin. He was super smart and I probably understood about half of what he was saying, but he did talk about the order in which to receive the TCH. He said to get you herceptin first because it has a synergistic relationship with the T and C. I think I got herceptin last on my first round, first on my second, and this time I ask my MO about it, he knew what I was talking about, and said that has been the protoocol for about a year,but also said sometimes the order changes depending on how the nurses are administering the anti nausea meds, because they want you to get those before Taxotere. Anyway, bottom line, I just asked the nurse if I could have the herceptin first and it was no problem, she did kind of indicate the order depended on what your nurse usually does. So just another example of advocating for yourself. Hope this helps. 

LindaKR

cgesq - my tearing was so severe that it distorted my vision, never cleared up, I couldn't drive at all because I couldn't see well enough, and I had to have stents put in, as my tear ducts were actually growing closed.  I wrote about it on this post - Taxotere & Taxotears 

The stents came out 4 months PFC and my tear ducts had healed open then.  My ophthalmologist said that my tear ducts would have grown all the way closed if I hadn't had the stents put in when I did.  I would recommend seeing your ophthalmologist ASAP, what I regret is that the stents weren't put in earlier, it would have saved me a lot of pain. My ophthalmologist had never heard of this complication of chemo, luckily I took a print out, which is listed on my post, with me.  After the stents were put in, it took a couple of days, but my eyes started draining and cleared up.

PM me if you have any questions. I haven't run across anyone else on these forums that's had to have the stents.

LindaKR

I got mine in the TCH order too, my chemo nurse said that they usually gave the chemo that had the most reactions first, right after the premeds, that way they could more easily tell what caused the reaction if you were to have one.

rickysgirl

I did the tearing thing after #'s 2 and 3.  I patted my eyes so much that the outside corners became raw.  I was putting udder balm around them (an old country remedy for everything) and my onc said NO, use artificial tears.  I seemed to go back and forth between tearing and dry.  I would rub my eyes so hard sometimes, because of itchiness and dryness,  that the whole eye became red.  I would put in the artificial tears, and get some relief for awhile.  I also have the twitching in both eyes, on the outside corners.  I just go with the flow.  I know it'll stop eventually.  I have actually started feeling something like a bruised feeling under where my left breast used to be.  Not sure what that is, but will bring it up next chemo.  I know I had a bad few days, with the fatigue, and managed to fall twice.  Bruised up my arm pretty good, but cannot remember if I hit that area or not.  My mind is not my own, as you all know.

Omaz

((((rickysgirl))))  Hang in there.

GrandmaV

I had my last herceptin yesterday.   My deportation is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday. 

Omaz

Whoo Hooo GrandmaV!!! Congrats!

Moonflwr912

Yay grandma.

Rgirl, please be careful, no more falling! Much love.

dancetrancer

Big congrats GrandmaV!!!!

cgesq

Congratulations GrandmaV!

I can't wait to be in your shoes  

GrandmaV

Thanks everybody. I'm so grateful for all of you.

jittersmom

my eyes were so watery and tears..all during my chemo.I finally tried lubricating drops and that helped..now still have my drippy nose hope that goes away.

not  thanks for the info on nightshade vegetables. i am going to look into this

GrandmaV

Port came out today.  The only part that hurt was numbing the area with a needle.  I didn't feel a thing when they pulled it out.  I'm so happy it's out.   Now only 4 years and 5 months till done with AI. 

linnyhopp

GrandmaV ~ It's been awhile since I have been on this board.  So happy to hear you are finished with the Herceptin and have been "de-ported."  My last Herceptin will be given on the 23rd of this month.  I did not have a port, so won't have that procedure.  I am caught between being happy the active treatment will be over and being nervous that I will only be taking the anastrozole. I guess I am never satisfied!  

Best wishes and no SE's to everyone.  If I can get through it, you guys will, too!  Hugs...Linda

Omaz

Whoo hoo GrandmaV!!

cvmarilyn

Just finished my chemo 2 weeks ago today and all of a sudden my nails are getting REALLY weird . I called and the nurse told me they are probably going to come off... looks like my eyelashes are getting thin now too.... anyone else had this happen at this point????

LindaKR

cvmarilyn - I didn't loose my eyelashes and eyebrows until after the last chemo.  Also, my nails continued to get worse for a while before they started to get better.  Remember they chemo is still working in your system for a while.  My neuropathy didn't really show up until after either!  You'll start seeing some improvement in the near future.

cvmarilyn

LindaKR - thanks so much for responding. So did all your nails come out - yikes... how long did it take for your lashes and brows to come back? It's so weird - I am kind of deaing with the loss of my hair - and thought that my lashes and brows were safe - never thought of my fingernails. Sigh.... I really appreciate your help.

LindaKR

First Marilyn, let me congratulate you on finishing your chemo!!!!!

My nails didn't come all the way out, they had to be cut back a little more than 1/2 way, toe nails too. lago had a lot more problem with her nails. 

My hair came back faster than my nails, eyelashes or brows.  At 4 months after my last chemo I started going out in public without a hat, I thought I had a ton of hair, looking back it wasn't really that much, but it didn't look bad.  My eyebrows, which have always been quite healthy, came back more gray and not very think, but they are easy to "draw" back on and make them look like they used to.  My eyelashes also didn't come back as thick as they were before, but if people didn't know within about 6 months they looked normal.  My nails have taken much longer, I'm two years post final chemo and they still have issues, they've grown back, but no matter what I do they peel, break and are full of ridges, in a few places they aren't all the way stuck down.

If your nails start hurting, keep them clipped short, because if they start lifting and you can catch them easily and rip them off. 

Not everyone has nail issues though!!!  But if you have more questions, like I said above, lago is the go to girl for nail issues!

lago

cvmarilyn I had the nail issue really badly. I only lost a few toenails and one big toenail had to be removed but every finger/toenail lifted and it hurt. My recommendation is to reduce the amount of trauma to them. I know you have to use your hands but the less pressure banging you do the less chances the will be permanently damaged. I have some nails that are still a little lifted and I'm almost 2  years PFC. As you can see I'm become famous on this forum for my nails. I got it really badly. Most people do not have it this bad but it started at tx 2 and I had 6tx. If you want links to photos PM me. I'm off to the doctor though so I'll answer later.

jittersmom

cvmarilyn: my eylashes fell out after my chemo also, in fact after my hair strted to come back a little. My nails were also discolored,and my toenails are wierd still, one fell out months after my chemo ended!My MO said they 'side effects' can last anywhere from 6 months to a year after chemo......ahhh the gift that keeps giving! Also my neuropathy showed up after, someone told me to take vitiman B it helps. So now i am trying that my feet are worse than my fingers. i just had my last herceptin, and am on Tamoxifen, so we will see what happens next!

rickysgirl

Well, I was all excited to post that I got #5 down, and have 1 to go.............excited that is, until I read all about the eyelashes and brows.  I thought I was very lucky to still have mine, and had NO idea that they could come out after chemo was done.  Did anyone else make it out without this loss?

cgesq

Thanks to all for the advice about the eye tearing.  I went to my eye dr, and thankfully, it wasn't a tear duct problem.  Simply dry eyes caused by the chemo.  He prescribed me some drops and my eyes are much better.

Had TCH number 4 yesterday (2/3 done with the biggies!!)  Definately feeling the effects sooner and stronger.  Yuck!  Hopefully they pass quickly.

Take care!

Omaz

rickysgirl - I am 2 years since the end of chemo and the outer parts of my eye brows are still filling in.  It's a slow process sometimes.

lago

rickysgirl I just had thinning lases and eyebrows during chemo but never lost them. 5 weeks PFC they thinned even more and lashes almost gone but I was never without completely especially eyebrows. Granted the eyebrows thinned on Anastrozole so not as good as they used to be. They fall out after chemo because the new growth is pushing them out. It means you won't be without that long.

Marcie47

I am 1 year out from my chemo and sooo glad to be on this side of it. Wish I would have come to this sight when I was going through the process, everybody helps you feel normal in a time that you feel much less than so!! I lost hair everywhere, even nose hairs, which you don't realize the importance of until they are no longer there. My eyelashes and brows came back VERY thin, but I could not be happier that I am here to talk about it. Also nails got bad at the end of the chemo, just keep hands clean and nails clipped short until they grow out, moisturize and oil your cuticles to help them come back healthy. Also for day after chemo, ask doctor for hydration infusion, that made a HUGE difference for my side effects.

Hope I didn't ramble and that I was able to help ease a little of your sadness!!!

beckstar18

jumping in to join this group. Met with my onco yesterday, doing the TCH regimen starting the week after Thanksgiving. Just had bmx Nov 5, still healing up from that. Hopefully I can spend some time tomorrow reading through this thread and learning about my chosen chemo cocktail.

LindaKR

Marcie makes a good point about hydration. Though I didn't go back the day after, my nurses are/were pretty big on running the whole bag of saline (or whatever) before you leave, even if it means you stay an extra 1/2 hour for the fluids.  This is especially important for people that aren't drinking a LOT of water!

Laura5133388

good luck steiner18! There are anti-nausea drugs to help with the side effects of TC, and I did not have much of a problem with H. I used cold caps, so I didn't lose my hair (at least on my head )

Omaz

Welcome steiner18 - there is sort of a companion thread to this one called Triple Positive Group so come on over there and check it out if you haven't already.